For reasons largely unknown, there are numerous video games which, whilst exhibiting promise, never see the light of day. What this feature aims to highlight are games that, whilst being officially announced, have never been released nor officially cancelled. The jury is out as to what has actually gone on behind the scenes.
Agent
Yeah, you’ve probably heard of Agent, Rockstar’s electrifying spy opus. First announced as a PS3 exclusive way back in 2009, Agent pledged a Cold War era thrill-ride through the dangerous world of espionage, counterintelligence, and assassination, but much like the silent death knell of a secret agent, Agent’s fate has been silently snuffed. Rockstar have never officially announced its cancellation, so technically Agent could still be in the works. Given the evocative concept art which leaked a while back, let’s hope so – Agent looked great.
Slitterhead
Gory body horror from Team Silent originators meant Slitterhead’s 2021 announcement was met with much fanfare. Even – exclaim expectant fans – Silent Hill composer-in-chief Akira Yamaoka is along for the ride, lending his blend of warped ambience and bone-crushing guitar riffage to the game’s grisly take on shape-shifting parasites. Last we heard of Slitterhead was a dev diary back in June 2023, so not that long ago, meaning, you know, that Slitterhead is probably still in the works. Be nice to hear something affirmative as to release dates from Bokeh Game Studio though.
Ferocious
If it weren’t for the devlogs shared on February 26th and April 15th, we’d think prehistoric survive-a-thon Ferocious had gone extinct. This first-person shooter risks being overshadowed by incoming Jurassic Park: Survival if it doesn’t drop soon, but to be fair it’s blend of jungle stealth, strategy, and survival – with a healthy dose of axe swinging mayhem – looks spot on. Let’s hope the situation at developer OMYOG isn’t as grim as the game’s dinosaur infested isolation.
Pragmata
The sci-fi dad-in-space adventure Pragmata has been delayed indefinitely, so we at least know that this ambitious game has vanished for sure. Why though, the developer haven’t stated. Announced in 2020 with numerous release dates coming and going, the most recent of which was last year which passed without explanation. Even stranger was the developer releasing a brief trailer before the mysterious delaying – almost to remind us it exists before flinging into a black hole. Pragmata might not be in the deepest of development hells, but a window on when we can get our hands on it drifts endlessly further.
Perfect Dark
Just what has happened to Joanna Dark’s rebooted saga? Announced at The Game Awards 2020 with little data forthcoming in the three-and-a-half years since, this Xbox exclusive is likely a number of years from release. What does this mean for Perfect Dark? Well, nothing probably, just that development is probably happening at a very slow pace. The incredible graphics, slick movement, and tight gunplay will remain we hope.
Beyond Good and Evil 2
Despite little evidence, this long-awaited sequel to 2003 Beyond Good and Evil is apparently still in the works. First announced in 2008, it’s genuinely farcical how back in the developer stated in an investor call that development of Beyond Good and Evil 2 was still in its early stages despite contrarily announcing progress as trundling along nicely. The tragic sudden death of Beyond Good and Evil 2’s creative director might understandably have scuppered progress since, but the outlook for this game was bleak either way.
Project Awakening
Let’s be honest, how awesome was Project Awakening’s gameplay reveal? The slick, lifelike dragon slaying looked truly next-gen, but with radio silence for what seems like eons now, maybe next-gen at the time meant next next-gen. The Japanese developer behind Project Awakening Cygames isn’t some faceless corporation though, with Granblue Fantasy: Relink the most recent of their output. Most likely is Project Awakening has been shelved despite it still being listed on the developer’s website as a ‘next-gen’ title advertised as PS4 exclusive.
PLAN 8
This exo-suit MMO shooter was announced in 2019, yet in what is an increasingly crowded sphere of the video game-verse PLAN 8 still seems like it has enough to stand out in 2024. Shame then that the most recent glimpses on its progress date back to screenshots shared in January 2020. The writings on the wall with this one: it’s dead in the water. The developers are supposedly still working on the title but it’s next-gen, genre-defying announcement is going to be woefully out of date by now.
Everwild
Hopefully still incoming from legendary British studio Rare, now owned by Microsoft, is magical nature adventure Everwild. We say hopefully as the glimpses we’ve seen are utterly spellbinding. An MMO in the vein of Sea of Thieves but in a fantasy setting, Everwild looks to meld multiple genres and gameplay mechanics in what is a hugely ambitious project. Every scene in the trailers seen so far look like oil paintings so let’s hope an official reveal is not too far away.
ILL
One of the Unreal Engine 5 tech demo games that drum up reasonable hype but never actually see the light of day, ILL has immense intrigue in it’s The Evil Within-style torment spliced within a setting reminiscent of John Carpenter’s The Thing. This narrative driven first-person horror has all the ingredients to be a game changer, it’s just that tech demos are hard to believe at the best of times, let alone for a game with little to no update barring a glimpse into gameplay over six months ago.
The Last Night
This is a strange one, as the most hype-accelerating aspect to The Last Night was a tweet some five-or-so years ago which shared a screengrab of its cyberpunk aesthetic comparing it to The Matrix. The loss of esteemed indie game publisher Raw Fury and controversy surrounding game director Tim Soret have likely contributed to The Last Night’s lengthy development., the former especially as developer Odd Tales had to work to reclaim their publishing rights. 19th November 2023 was the last official update we had of The Last Night. It’s likely still in development, just that progress has been stifled by misfortune.
Vigilancer 2099
This one will ride on the coattails of Cyberpunk 2077 when it eventually drops, it’s neon-soaked cityscapes are so reminiscent of Night City. In Vigilancer 2099 you’ll play as a secretive bounty hunter in a densely populated open world, with limitless traversal options on hand to get to grips with the verticality of Vigilancer’s megabuilding. There’s been next to no news for a couple of years now, so maybe this small-team developer has unfortunately folded.
Splinter Cell Remake
From rumour to full-blown conclusion, it’s been a few years now that a remake to Sam Fisher’s first outing in Splinter Cell has been on the go, but at present it doesn’t feel like we’re close to reliving Sam’s formative missions. For what it’s worth, Splinter Cell remake is confirmed to feature an updated story that will appeal to a modern audience. As and when we get to relive the game, we don’t know, but info will hopefully be forthcoming soon.
Routine
Nearly a decade after it was first announced, sci-fi moon base horror Routine received a new trailer during Summer Game Fest 2022. It’s 80’s retro-future and creepy atmosphere conjure a deep feeling of dread through juxtaposition of style and gameplay, and whilst development has been restarted at least once since its original announcement the aforementioned indie publisher Raw Fury is on board to see this one through to completion. Routine looks genuinely exceptional.
Deep Down
Despite being near completion and never being officially cancelled action role-player Deep Down has still never been released. Instead, this souls like game has been treated to titbits of info over the years since its first announcement in 2013. The developer stated in 2019 that hope wasn’t completely lost on Deep Down, but all hope has all but died. Development might always pick up again seeing as the assets were reportedly close to conclusion, but there’s no sign of that presently.
